Why It Is Useful To Redfine What it is to Be A Black Dancer

 It is time to redefine what it is and what it can actually look like to be a black dancer in 2022. I do not call it wrong for black directors, educators, choreographers to use their authority for black dancers in the creation process, especially since I have seen and experienced the disproportional casting of black and brown bodies in some spaces. Walk in that privilege and authority, truthfully. After all, there are pros to certain people gaining positions of influence. To the opposite end of that thought, something that began in integrity and as a celebration of black dancers becomes more of a stumbling block to ourselves rather than a stepping stone when we only cycle the narrative of the struggles and grievances of black dancers, especially black women in ballet. Today, the victimhood of black dancers is disguised under advocacy and the famous statement "representation matters. Since 2020 I have seen, however, the backlash that is going painfully undetected because the truth is, you will not make progress or gain traction with your advocacy while simultaneously isolating yourself within the field you want to be accepted in. How are we constantly isolating ourselves and our people? by relentlessly broadcasting the woes of what it feels like to be a black dancer. It sounds as a cry of strenuous endurance in the field rather than the strength we work and pride ourselves on. Some of the hi-lighted points of the plea of the black dancer includes things that, on a larger scale have nothing to do with the art form moving forward beautifully. There are things that can be and should be simply looked at as preferences such as hair, tights or shoe color. For example, making a huge deal out of black women being able to wear their hair the way it is within ballet is something that falls into the category of respect for the craft as opposed to a lack of acceptance of the black woman. I have honestly thought to myself at times "Are you seriously wanting to wear chunky twists or two puffs for Swan Lake?". Some of these pleas are not racially charged at all but as they have morphed into the BLM movement and current blackness fad, no one is taking a step back to say "Perhaps we are not being pushed away as much as we are stepping away". Even for me, as a black dancer who has experienced forms of institutional racism in both dance and theater spaces I come to the conclusion that no one wants to deal with a person who focuses so much on negativity. Once we stepped into having to prove the validity of our artistic existence and relevance it is no longer a celebration of ourselves but it turns to isolation. Let's jump back to 2020. It was also the year I began virtual training with my new ballet company. Rolled into one with BLM on a new kick and various dancers bringing their distasteful company experiences to social media, I felt the awkward push for anyone who is not black to get on board with everything black at whatever cost. My very thought was the majority of black people gave this vibe that they wanted everyone who is not black to bow down to them. Even in my work place as a professional dancer I saw the effects of the BLM movement. Basically if they were not black it felt like they could not say or do anything without possibly making a wrong move. I am in no way condoning the isolation of any person or group due to skin color, race, background or phenotype (different from judging someone based off of the standards of the craft)but man, it was as if directors, choreographers, instructors could no longer push a vision or standards because "black is in!". This is not a knock at standing up for what is right (legitimate and integral initial equal opportunity for dancers) but a call to action for black dancers to change the current narrative and just be you-- in any company or space. My point is that this time can be one to redefine what it means to be a black dancer even while looking at historical truths and staring down the faces of those who just don't want to evolve from their archaic ways of thinking. When I think of the great dancers who blazed many trails before us, their integrity is what stands out. They were passionate, disciplined. They were audacious and they were bold! They created space for themselves because they were not welcomed in others. To me, it did not look like they were trying to prove "I can do this". A huge issue with the "black dance advocacy" today is the underlining "It needs to be Black" connotation that seems to be attached. The legends we love lived in much harsher times and went down in history. Why can't we take a pages from their books?